U.S. Travel Association Reports Travel Jobs Down 3,000 in May

U.S. Travel Association Reports Travel Jobs Down 3,000 in May

The U.S. Travel Association reported that employment in the travel industry in May 2011 was down 3,000, the first monthly decline in six months. Nevertheless, over the past year travel jobs actually increased by 107,200, which accounted for 12.3 percent of the 873,000 U.S. jobs added overall during this period.

“With the domestic economy appearing to decelerate in the second quarter, reliance on exports will play an even more critical role in keeping the recovery ongoing and create job opportunities for Americans,” said David Huether, senior vice president of economics and research at the U.S. Travel Association, who provided analysis of the U.S. Labor Department employment report.

Last year, foreign travel in the U.S. supported 931,000 jobs directly in the U.S. travel industry and another 856,000 jobs in other industries. And through the first quarter of this year, travel exports were up 8.7 percent from 2010, a good sign that this key job creator is continuing to grow.

“Attracting more foreign visitors to the United States will play an important role in creating job opportunities for U.S. workers across America,” Huether said. “However, the U.S. is in strong competition with other global markets, which is why the U.S. Travel Association recently put forth a plan to create 1.3 million domestic jobs by making the U.S. a more-competitive export market in global travel.”